Study of Gay Fathers, 1978

This research investigates the ways in which men who are both gay and fathers resolve identity conflicts. Participants were 19 gay fathers, all of whom were or had been married. The sample was all White and living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Data were collected by in-depth, open-ended, unstructured interviews. The interviews focused on issues of gay and father identities, and disclosure of either or both of these identities to others. Interviews included questions on topics such as marital history, quality of married life, realization of own homosexuality, reasons for separation and/or divorce, discussion of own homosexuality with others, disclosure of father role to others, and others' reactions to either disclosure. The Murray Archive holds additional analogue materials for this study (copies of transcripts of the interviews). If you would like to access this material, please apply to use the data.